16 Seconds
by Kazima Kuwabara
Summary: It happened in 16 seconds. Fame gets stalkers, and rock stars go out with a bang. Beck doesn't want that to happen...Ryusuke, Taira, Chiba, Koyuki, and Saku want to die old...but...it happened in 16 seconds.


Have not written a story in some time due to illness and finals for college, as well as breaking my previous laptop. I'm rewriting a yyh story, but after reading Beck I feel like I need to write this, and see how comfortable I feel in this section. I really enjoyed Beck and hope this piece can be enjoyable, oh and as always I own nothing.

First Beck story!

* * *

Someone said that a true Rocker's death, a legend's death was being shot on stage, or just shot. Ryusuke said that was a bunch of crap. In the back of his mind however, he thought those sick stereotypical rumors...were indeed true, but he wanted his band mates to die old. To live and be able to be a bunch of old farts together as crazy as they could be. Throwing shit out of buildings, just like the Rolling Stones...

So when they received a letter (more like Koyuki received a letter) with an ominous message...something just...was wrong. The letter read:

"**Rap ruins you. **

**Rap tarnishes your singing, and ruins your soul. **

**Don't be afraid innocent. **

**Don't worry any longer.**

**I wish to free you from your burden."**

Ryusuke couldn't help but feel an uncomfortable knot form in his stomach. He glanced a Koyuki whose face seemed unreadable for once, and then he looked at his band mates. No one seemed comfortable and for a moment Ryusuke wondered if he'd be able to get his band on stage. It was Chiba who busted out laughing, despite the fact that he seemed pale, "What a fuckin' weird letter. You should toss that shit."

"Be serious," Taira snapped setting his bass guitar aside and rising sharply. "This sounds fuckin' serious Chiba."

Chiba rubbed a finger under his nose and sniffed, looking to his left, "Jesus, I'm just sayin' that we go on in a few minutes...we can worry about it later. How can we preform if we worry about some punk's trash?"

Ryusuke smiled and ignored the painful knot in his stomach, something he would regret later, "I agree. Koyuki if you ain't scared of that audience-"

Koyuki laughed and let the letter drop to his feet. He smiled at Saku who had come up behind him to place a tense hand on his back, and Koyuki picked up his guitar, "Let's not disappoint, right?"

Taira looked the most tense as they walked out on the stage, and despite the fact that everyone seemed to be gravitating to Koyuki, Taira was leaning against Chiba. Chiba glanced at Taira, and in an unusual whisper for the loud charismatic man, Chiba asked, "Hey...'sup? Why you leanin' on me...Koyuki received the letter."

"I have a bad feeling," Taira said without looking at Chiba's incredulous look, "That letter said rap ruined Koyuki. You could be in some serious shit too."

Chiba shrugged leaning against Taira a little as well. The two had formed a pretty tight bond since that day when Beck first split up after Ryusuke's harsh words. Chiba had never been good with people really, never had a best friend, but if he had to name someone as his best friend, it would be Taira. Taira, cool as usual, would readily agree that Chiba was his best friend too. No doubt. A weird combination, but the bond was there, and there was no use in denying it. "If someone's got a beef with me then I'll take it...and I won't let Koyuki take the heat. Simple as that, right?"

And then there was no time for talk, and it was time to rock.

Chiba introduced the songs and it was when they began, "Human Fly," that Chiba seemed slightly off, and focusing on the crowd. Normally his vocal power echoed through the room, but the dim stage lights just couldn't seem to glow any brighter at Chiba's powerful words. Ryusuke was halfway tempted to take Lucille and bash it against Chiba's head, and then it happened.

Chiba stopped rapping and looked at something in the crowd, following a moving figure as he crawled on stage. A young teen, who at first seemed like a stage diver, stood on the stage now, and turned to look Koyuki in the eye. "I'm going to save you," the teen said, and at that all music stopped, joining Chiba in silence. Many things happened in a matter of exactly sixteen seconds.

The young man pulled out a gun; Maho's voice rang out the strongest in the screaming crowd; The gun was pointed at Koyuki who stood motionless before the man frozen in not fear, but in a strange sense of bewilderment; Saku had jumped over his drums, and screamed louder than he ever had; Taira swung his Bass off his shoulder and wielded it as a weapon; Ryusuke dropped Lucille, his hand shooting out for Koyuki; Saku's drums clattered loudly, and a crunch echoed in the room as he put his foot through his largest drum as he tried to make a mad dash for Koyuki; Maho had managed to push her way through the crowd towards the stage; Ryusuke finally moved and abandoned Lucille as he raced for Koyuki who was less than a yard away; Taira looked from Koyuki and then turned his head sharply to the right as Chiba moved faster than all of them; A bang rang out, and a second letter the gunman was tackled off the stage by a screaming crowd...

And Chiba stood in front of Koyuki arms spread out like a martyr, red blood pooling from his chest.

He coughed blood bubbling from his mouth and staining his teeth--and everything went still.

Silence was not something that had befallen Beck often. Silence in this one moment was the most frightfully deafening sound on this stage, in this crowded area. The world stopped turning, and everything froze on its axle. Gravity intensified, and Koyuki was on his knees, Saku crashing into him and throwing his arms around the singer in a protective grasp though his eyes were on Chiba. The air itself died away and left the members of Beck choking and then Chiba tipped backwards. Taira got the world to spin once more with an agonizing scream of a name that had hardly ever been used for Chiba, "TSUNEMI!!!" At the cry of Chiba's first name, everyone was able to move, everything went back in motion, and the 17th second ended. As the world spun again, and everything went back to normal all eyes were focused on Taira who was holding Chiba hands pressed to the bloody hole.

Someone already had the cops, and ambulance on the phone, as the band members crowded around the fallen vocalist. Chiba's eyes were glazed as they stared directly into the lights that shone on the stage. Chiba could have sworn they had been dull tonight, and couldn't remember them being so intense...but damn were they bright now. So bright it burned. It was very hard to breathe, and in an effort to understand what was happening to him he looked around eyes finding his friends faces. They were all blurry, and their mouths were moving, but all that thrummed in Chiba's ears were his harsh breaths and thumping heart. Taira's face hovered in his face the most, and Chiba felt his body grow colder. Finally his panting was slowing, and the heartbeat stopped thrumming...but Chiba was thinking this wasn't such a bad thing, because his tight chest stopped hurting, and the lights didn't seem so bright.

And then Taira's hands were pressed tighter to his wound, and he pressed his lips to Chiba's. At first Chiba thought of headbutting Taira in the face, or screaming at the bassist despite the fact that Chiba felt so weak, but then Taira breathed in Chiba's mouth and Chiba understood. Taira had not gone gay on him, but was giving him mouth to mouth. And Chiba hoped that his friend could see how grateful he was for this act. Chiba's last conscious thought was he hoped he's be able to do something like this for Taira if something like this ever happened again...Chiba hoped that pride wouldn't get in the way of stopping him from saving his friend. But then again he also would like it best if this never happened again...and maybe if he could live...And then the stage lights were too bright again, and Chiba felt, and heard nothing.

* * *

The members didn't remember how long it took to get to the hospital or how long they were sitting in the hospital waiting room, but time started again when Taira who had his heads between his knees suddenly spoke, a sob caught in his throat though his face had no tears, "If Chiba quits the band, I quit too." Taira looked up at them all with red, eyes; blood still stained on his mouth from when he gave Chiba artificial respiration.

The words were familiar, and Ryusuke flinched at them, but he agreed and understood what the bassist meant by 'quit.' If Chiba died...Beck was over...and Ryusuke agreed. This band could not live without everyone, this band was nothing with out the whole group. The young guitartist had learned that the hard way. Ryusuke nodded speaking next, "Yeah...if he goes Beck is finished."

"He won't finish," Koyuki spoke up hands clasped together in a tight fist. "He's not going to die. I won't leave until the doctor says he'll live. He won't die."

As per usual a renewed hope filled the group. There was just something about Koyuki's words and the way his voice sounded that filled them all with a hope that you would think you'd lost. Saku smiled, "Yes...he'll be fine," and with that he twirled his drumsticks in the air and began drumming the beginning of "Human Fly." against the hospital wall just next to Chiba's hospital bedroom. Ryusuke smiled and picked up Lucille which he had managed to retrieve from the stage, and joined Saku-no amp needed. Soon everyone was playing outside of Chiba's room.

No stage, no lights, no amps, and nothing to make their music to echo around the room, only faint soft sounds, of the song "Human Fly," that waited for its singer. After the 14th time they started the song, a doctor appeared and the band mates stopped. "Chiba had a collapsed lung, but the bullet went through, that probably saved his life. He's weak, and can't talk too much, but he's awake and in stable condition, he's asking for you all."

Taira was up first and entered the room stopping to look at Chiba who was leaned up against pillows, looking like hell...but alive. It did not seem like he was ready to speak but he flipped Taira off and flashed a weak grin, and with that Taira finally moved allowing the others entrance. The group gathered around and hugged Chiba who frowned in protest signaling his chest hurt too much and they needed to cut it out.

They promptly ignored him, and when all was settled Taira was sitting next to Chiba. Chiba motioned for Taira to lean down and Chiba whispered in Taira's ear once the man had done so. Taira smiled and rolled his eyes and looked at his fellows. "Chiba says for our comeback after his injuries, we should make a song...dedicated to his awesomeness."

Everyone laughed, and Ryusuke rolled his eyes, "We should dump your ass for doing such a fool thing!"

Chiba nestled down in his pillows and flipped Ryusuke off.

A few chuckles resounded, and then Koyuki was up and bowed to Chiba, "thank you for saving my life." Smiles spread slowly on all their faces and Chiba's pale face flared red. Weakly and with much effort Chiba grumbled, "Stop praising me you stupid assholes...I'm not the only one here...who would have acted like an idiot and taken that...'sides..."

After a pause Chiba smiled a cheesy smile, "Girls dig scars."

**End**


End file.
